Eminem: ‘I almost quit rapping after I was booed during my first show’

'I just remember it being so fucking traumatic,' says hip-hop superstar of debut gig

Press

Eminem has revealed that he almost quit rapping after he was booed during his first show.

The List reports that the hip-hop superstar, who is featured in Ice T’s new documentary Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap along with Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, said he found his debut gig “so fucking traumatic” that he nearly abandoned his music career altogether.

He said:

The first time I rapped in front of actual people that mattered, in a club, I got booed. And it was very traumatic for me. I just remember it being so fucking traumatic, and I think I went home and I was like, man, I quit.

However, he went on to add: “And you know a week later, a day later, an hour later I got the urge, and I was like, I gotta get up, I gotta do it again.”

Speaking about his career, meanwhile, he said: “I certainly feel like if it wasn’t for rap, obviously, I wouldn’t be here, but it gave me my voice, it gave me my outlook, it gave me strength, you know what I came back from, overdose and a whole load of shit – without rap I wouldn’t be able to do a fucking thing.

“This is the one thing I feel that I feel like I have and a can do well, if I didn’t have this I don’t think I could do anything else, except for maybe play basketball.”

Earlier this week (August 1), Eminem became the first musician to secure over 60 million fans on Facebook, beating Lady Gaga and Rihanna to the record. He has long been the most popular person on the social networking site, taking the honour from Michael Jackson way back in 2009. Rihanna, however, is narrowly approaching 60 million fans herself, with a current total of 59,318,829 likes.

Eminem recently confirmed that he has begun work on his new album and that regular producer Dr Dre will definitely “be involved”. The rapper released his seventh studio album ‘Recovery’ in 2010 and earlier this year postponed filming his second lead role in new movie Southpaw to focus on his new record.

His most recent recorded output was a collaboration with rapper Royce da 5’9′ under the name Bad Meets Evil. They released their debut EP ‘Hell: The Sequel’ last year.

NME Merch

This Week's Magazine

Connect With Us

NME Newsletter

Your email address:

By submitting your details, you will also receive emails from Time Inc. UK, publisher of NME and other iconic brands about its goods and services, and those of its carefully selected third parties. Please tick here if you’d prefer not to hear about:

Time Inc.'s goods & services, including all the latest news, great deals and offers